{"id":3606,"date":"2019-09-05T14:49:24","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T19:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=3606"},"modified":"2026-02-12T22:32:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:32:01","slug":"the-angle-of-the-dangle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2019\/09\/05\/the-angle-of-the-dangle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Angle of the Dangle"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position:<\/h6>\n

The Picos de Europa are a series of dramatic limestone mountains 300 million years in the making. They cross northern Spain between Santander and Gij\u00f3n for about 20 km. A cavernous gorge runs through the middle. A paradise for mountaineers, the Picos contain the most famous climb in Spain as well as some of the world\u2019s deepest caves. The area\u2019s human population is around 1,300, including a small group of shepherds who maintain their bygone lifestyle. Moving up the valleys in the summer with their sheep, goats, and cows, they make fabulous blue cheeses that beat the best Stilton I ever had.<\/p>\n

By happenstance we ended up in the Vald\u00e9on Valley which consists of eight small villages and hundreds of mountains. Representing 25% of the total area of the Picos, Vald\u00e9on is surrounded by the northern and western massifs of the Picos and by the Cantabrian mountain range to the east.Legend claims the mountains rose up as the result of a Titan\u2019s mighty punch on the ground. It\u2019s an almost insurmountable area that was the last stronghold of the Cantabrian tribes fending off the conquering Romans. There are no gentle slopes or wide valleys here. It is an epicentre for mountaineers and Spain\u2019s land of the eagles.<\/p>\n

We wandered into the Tobaventura climbing store just to buy a trail map. There was no one else in there. In fact, the entire valley was wonderfully devoid of people. The summer high season slows down in early August and is over by September. The two employees present both had special needs and I started liking this business all the more. One was a young man with Down Syndrome, who was moving small crates of equipment into the back room. The other was an effervescent young woman, Raquel, with cerebral palsy.<\/p>\n

A TV playing a video loop of three guided adventures caught my eye. On show was canyoning with some rappelling, caving\/spelunking also with some rappelling, and the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance: <\/b>climbing the local Via Ferrata. Raquel saw me watching and asked if I wanted to know more? I immediately said, yes. Her English was good enough that I got the gist of the adventure as well as the pertinent logistical points.<\/p>\n

We thanked her and purchased our trail map. As we drove the short distance to our trailhead for the afternoon, I turned to Mike and said I\u2019ve decided what I want for my birthday, let\u2019s extend our car rental and find a hotel and do one of those adventures. He\u2019d been asking what I wanted and I figured I\u2019d double down on getting his buy-in by requesting this as my gift. Mike readily agreed and after hiking the Cain Gorge we went back and signed up for the next day\u2019s guided Via Ferrata climb. I wanted to do what would challenge me the most. Even without the physical demands, with my huge fear of heights the Via Ferrata would assuredly do that. I hadn\u2019t read anything about the route, it\u2019s classification, or the physical requirements before we signed up. In hindsight that was a good thing because I might have chickened out. For the record the requirements are:<\/p>\n